My husband and I headed up towards Marmot Pass, got a little crazy and climbed the steep talus slope, route I,3 to the col between Buckhorn's two peaks. I always love climbing the "never-ending scree slope" but it was well worth the effort. Much more interesting than taking route I,2. We enjoyed the mountain to ourselves and had great weather.

I spent a couple of nights at camp mystery over memorial day in '07. There was snow starting about 1/2 a mile before the camp, but it was quite consolidated and easy to hike in with just boots. The first night I headed up to scramble around on the south scree slopes of Buckhorn and ended up summiting since it was so close. No views due to the heavy clouds however... boooo. In the morning I headed up again, this time via marmot pass, and once again had no views. The scree skiing and glissading on the descents were ridiculously fun, and made up for the lack of views. I did manage to take advantage of a break in the weather at the end of the second night to get some pretty good views from marmot pass. All in all it was an amazing trip, I'll have to head back some time.

I went solo during a very small break in the weather. After summitting, I was glissading down a snowfield when I needed to self arrest to stop. That made a believer out of me when it comes to ice axe leashes.

I am a backpacker/scrambler. My very first mountain that I climbed was Buckhorn. It was nice and warm, bright clear day the first time. Time took: 6.5 hours. I have done it in as little as 4.5 hours (round trip). The way to save time (and burn muscles) is to skip the route to Marmot pass while between the to Buckhorns. Climb up the scree field and pick which one you want to start at! The Northeast is more of a scramble, but the southwest one is the taller.
Most of the time, however, I climb up to Marmot Pass and eat lunch just above it. (An excellent route to Boulder Peak) While bypassing West Peak on the North, reach the saddle and scramble (Class 2) to the top.

Route along ridge from Marmot Pass to the higher western summit at 6,988 feet. From the pass follow the Tubal Cain Mine Trail to the right and travel for a ways before following the way trail uphill to the right. This way trail is not on Custom Correct Maps. The way trail will lead over a minor peak and drop down to a saddle below the summit which required minor hand usage to ascend. Weather was partly cloudy with no snow on the route.

Really nice hike to the summit from Marmot Pass. Great weather, with good views East to Seattle, North to Vancouver Island, and West to the rest of the Olympics. Much easier climb than it appears from the Pass.

This was a great hike coming in from Quilcene. I stopped off at Camp Mystery for a break then headed up to the Pass and then the summit. Next time, I'd like to hike up to the Pass from the other side, it sounds like fun.

A very nice summit in the eastern Olympics. The day I was up was very clear. I could see from Mt Saint Helens in the S. to what , I believe, was the Tantalus Range in the Coast Mountains of B.C. The Straight of Juan De Fuca and the Vancouver Island mountains were also visible. This mountain is perfect for a dayhike, but the drive on forest service roads to the trailhead is a pain.

Fantastic hot weather with a nice breeze made for a fun scramble to the summit with Stefan Hampden, Zander Nosler, and Mila. Annie Reese, Julie Hampden, Megan Finaly, Blue and Ivy sunned themselves on the saddle, providing rescue back up and moral support. The scree skiing was a blast on the descent, the slump camp was a golden find by Stefan (water, clear views of Gargoyles and Hood Canal bridge, and a tree for hanging food!), and the riverside hiking was lush and cool. Note that there was some snow on the Poop Out Drag (steep section of trail above Shelter Rock Camp), dry trail to Camp Mystery (where a few tent-size patches had melted out), and snow beyond (someone else reported 5' at Marmot Pass).